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Are your ears worthy of your headphones?

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Are your ears worthy of your headphones?…

The process of human hearing sound is very complicated.

But compared to the metaphysics of headphones and audio, the complexity of the human ear is basically not worth mentioning. But before we get into whether Beats is shallow, whether Sony is good, and whether headphone noise reduction is good for your ears, let’s take a look at what we’re talking about when it comes to sound quality. It may be that when you feel that the sound quality of a certain headset is not good, the problem is in your ears or in the sound file itself.

01 What is sound quality?

The essence of music and sound is the vibration of air, and sound quality is generally attributed to three aspects: volume, pitch, and timbre.

Everyone knows the volume and the tone is Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti. And what is the tone?

The American National Standards Institute defines timbre as “…a sensory attribute by which a listener can judge that two tones of the same volume and pitch are not the same.” We can tell the difference between a guitar playing a 440Hz tone and a piano playing a 440Hz tone.

The sound reproduced by different headphones is different, and the timbre is also different. However, in terms of volume, different headphones will also have a certain volume difference due to different internal circuitry; as for the tone, there is no obvious change without accident.

02Digital recording and analog recording

There is no doubt that pre-CD audio carriers: magnetic tapes, vinyl records, etc., are all analog recording products. The word “analog” is also translated as “analog”, in short, it restores and reproduces the vibration in the air at that moment in a physical way. Whether it’s vinyl or tape, physical features such as bumps, depressions, or magnetic dust splits on tape or disc are used to restore the vibrance detail of the audio.

But in the age of CDs and computers, all audio vibrations are converted to 0 or 1 on the surface of the disc and go into the so-called binary algorithm. After decoding, it is restored to physical vibration.

In popular music recordings, there are probably three most common formats:

44.1 kHz, 16-bit waveform

320kb mp3

128kb mp3

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Mp3, is it the best format for music and sound?

People are looking for the best audio and video quality in 2022, what is it?

If you are seriously looking for high-quality audio and video, we advise you to stay away from the data-throwing fundamentalists and adopt a more practical attitude.

First of all you must ask yourself, on which devices will you listen to the audio or see the videos.

We have listened to dozens of fundamentalists who use numbers and certain statements as dogmas and have turned even this discussion of quality into a dogma.

And that is diametrically different from the simple my real aspiration to really enjoy the best audio and video quality that your equipment can deliver and that your eyes and ears are capable of detecting.

Mathematical statements are useless if you do not have an HD computer to listen to your audios and watch your videos.

Nor if the extreme is reached where the difference is already indistinguishable for 99.99% of the population.

It is fully demonstrated that for 99.99% of the population, even for those who have auditory training, an mp3 with 320 kbps and 48000 as sample rate is indistinguishable from a WAV or FLAC.

You can improve your audio with Mp4Gain regardless if you decide to continue using mp3s or prefer to switch to FLAC (Mp4Gain can convert and use these and other formats like ogg, m4a, etc)

In short, the discussion of sound quality should be based more on actually hearing the best possible audio and not a fundamentalist discussion about numbers.

The audio formats with the best sound quality

audio formats

In addition, when editing, because some details have been compressed and sacrificed, the editing space is relatively small.

audio formats

It should be noted that the sound quality will be compromised every time these formats are output. After too many output programs, the quality can be terrible, so the number of times of recompression and conversion should be reduced.

Pros: small file size, maximum device compatibility

Disadvantages: destructive compression leads to loss of sound quality, less spatial flexibility for reissue

Resume
When it comes to sound files for editing, it’s ideal to work with uncompressed formats like .WAV or .AIFF. Such a format allows users to get the greatest degree of tolerance and freedom when editing, and most of these file formats are still supported, regardless of software or equipment. Also, when the video is output at the end of the project, the music file will still be compressed, so it’s ideal to use a file format with higher sound quality from the start, which is ideal for a project that needs to go through post-edit layers. But if it is based on the premise of convenient, fast and easy-to-use transmission, .MP3 can still meet your needs without sacrificing sound quality.

Mp4Gain is a program that allows you not only to normalize the audio of your sound or cvideo files, but also to improve the quality and offers you to perform a whole series of modifications so that you have better audio quality used.

The audio formats with the best sound quality

First of all, divide all types of music files into three parts as follows:

Uncompressed file formats: .WAV, .AIFF

Lossless compression formats: .FLAC, .ALAC (Apple Lossless)

Destructive compression formats: .MP3, .AAC, .WMA, .OGG

Below are their respective advantages and disadvantages.

1. Uncompressed file format
Uncompressed music files are just like the concept of Raw files. Essentially no compression will of course have the best sound quality. (The sample rate and bit rate of the original recording are also very important. If the compressed music file is converted to an uncompressed file, the music won’t magically improve the sound quality.)

The most common disadvantage of uncompressed files is the file size. Generally, the file size of a song is around 25 ~ 40 MB. While that capacity is no longer an issue for cloud hard drives, it is still an issue for email. Also big (25MB max for Gmail attachments). Also, some portable music players or devices may not be able to play such music files.

Advantages: original sound reproduction, no compression, lossless, easier to use in post production

Disadvantages: large file format, fewer supported devices

2. Lossless compression format
The term “compressed and lossless” seems contradictory, but compression does not necessarily affect sound quality. More precisely, it’s more like “compressed to save space”. It’s like compressing a high quality file into a .ZIP and decompressing it when you want to use it, the quality of the file will not be affected.

Therefore, this type of file has a compressed capacity, but the file will be decompressed during playback to restore sound quality. Although the concept of reducing capacity without affecting sound quality is great, the downside is that support for this format is extremely low and in order to decompress the file during playback, an additional codec is required to use it, and it will. also take some performance.

Advantages: small file capacity (about 1/2 ~ 1/3 lossless files), good sound quality

Disadvantages: Decompression can eat performance when used, and support from hardware or software is extremely low

3. Destructive compression format
The destructive compression format is currently the most common music file format, the main reason is that it has the greatest compatibility with portable devices (mobile phones, MP3 players, etc.), and the files are small and have a space of limited storage. , users can store more music (compressed capacity is about one-tenth of lossless sound quality), and most of the music provided by today’s streaming media is files in this format. There is always a price to pay for smaller files. Compared to lossless formats, this destructive compression will affect the audio range that the original sound can present and will cause some distortion. So, to be safe, keep the compression rate above 320 kbps as much as possible.

The best popular audio formats

The best popular audio formats

I looked around the forest of audio formats for normal use and chose the 5 most important ones. It is true that, in part, a bit simplified, a bit rough in presentation. I refrain from differentiating the exact settings of the respective codecs, that would be too complex.

I also don’t want to get into the nasty topic of DRM. The most important one I dropped is probably Vorbis. . Of course, I assume that the correct settings are used when encoding and that a high quality level is selected.

1st place:
MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3)

The most widespread digital format, with good encoding (for example, with LAME) in high bit rates, a format of the highest quality and transparency.

Quality (4.5 / 5 points)
Popularity (5/5 points)
Compression (4/5 points)
Total: 13.5

2nd place:
AAC (advanced audio coding)

It became famous especially for its use in the Apple iPod, a codec that has small advantages over MP3 at low bit rates due to technical developments.

Quality (4/5 points)
Popularity (4.5 / 5 points)
Compression (4.5 / 5 points)
Total: 13

3rd place:
WMA (Windows Media Audio)

Windows proprietary format. Of course, Microsoft has the reins here, so variable format doesn’t run on all playback devices. Otherwise, no major strengths and weaknesses and, for example, the standard format with Napster.

Quality (4/5 points)
Popularity (4/5 points)
Compression (4/5 points)

Total: 12

4th place:
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) !!

As the only lossless codec on this list. FLAC works in something like a ZIP program: the original can be restored from the compressed file by approximately 50% without restrictions. In times of low hard disk space, a real alternative, especially since many playback devices can play this format. My winner of hearts, the popularity will certainly increase in the future.

Quality (5/5 points)
Popularity (3.5 / 5 points)
Compression (3/5 points)

Total: 11.5

5th place:
Wav

The original format of the normal audio CD data. Impeccable quality and still widespread thanks to the well-known compact disc. It actually started out of the competition because it’s completely unzipped.

Quality (5/5 points)
Popularity (5/5 points)
Compression (0/5 points)
Total: 10

All about all audio file formats

Dematerialized music has evolved considerably for almost 15 years and has played an important role in the daily life of every individual. We’ve all heard more or less about FLAC, MP3, WAV, etc.! Few people really know the difference between each size, its pros and cons …

This article is intended to enlighten you to make the best possible choice for extracting and compressing your audio files.

There are different types of layouts that can be grouped into several large families:

– uncompressed files

-lossless compressed files

– Lossy compressed files

audio formats

-Uncompressed files

WAV: WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) is an audio file format created by Microsoft for Windows. This format is usually an uncompressed container. Therefore, an audio CD with a duration of about 80 minutes in WAV weighs plus or minus 800 MB

Advantages: the file remains in its original form, no loss of information (no loss)

Disadvantages: The WAV file is an uncompressed format that gives it a large size and therefore takes up more space in the storage space.

AIFF – Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is the Mac OS equivalent of the WAV format. Therefore, it has the same characteristics as this. The pros and cons of this format are the same as for WAV.

– Lossless compressed files

FLAC: The FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) format is without doubt the most beneficial file for the user. Firstly, in terms of WAV and AIFF, this format is a lossless format, ie the digitization of the file does not imply any loss of information from the audio spectrum. The file is scanned and returned as is. The second advantage of this format is the size it occupies in the storage space. Nondestructive compression is applied to this type of format as a ZIP file, making the scanned file about 2 times less space than a WAV file. Therefore, for 80 minutes of music on CD, the occupied space will be approximately 400 MB. Finally, this format is universal, compatible with most multimedia players, it is compatible with all operating systems except iOS,

Advantages: file size, identical reproduction of the original file during scanning, free and compatible with almost all media players and operating systems

– Disadvantages: none

ALAC: The ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) format is simply the Apple equivalent of the FLAC file.

– Lossy compressed files

MP3: The MP3 format (Mpeg Layer 3) is a well-known format. It is a format with destructive compression, that is, a recording from which musical information has been removed thanks to the so-called psychoacoustic compression algorithm (taking into account the peculiarities of the human ear), so that less scanning is needed to create a lighter file to obtain . This format is most commonly used for dematerialized music, as it allows a significant space saving in the storage space with a size of about 150 MB for an 80 minute CD. Compression can be more or less destructive depending on the speed used, which can range from 4: 1 (320 Kbits / sec) to 12: 1 (128 Kbits / sec).

-Advantages: it takes up little space on the hard disk and does not affect the quality of the songs with a dynamic range and a limited variety of timbres

– Disadvantages: paid MP3 license, destructive compression for “richer” songs.

AAC: The AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) format is a format close to the MP3 format, but provides additional definition with an identical compression rate. Apple uses this specific format in the iTunes Store, but also on YouTube. the extension can be written in various forms, such as .AAC, .M4A or MP4

-Advantages: better compression quality than MP3

-Cons: compressed file format at a loss

What is the best audio format?

Many are known, but there is always the question of what is the best audio format. The main and most recognized for listening to music are MP3, Wav, FLAC and Ogg.

But, to choose the best audio format, you must first know that they have several conformations, and you can always choose the best. Music always goes everywhere, at home in front of the computer, in a living room with a hi-fi system, with headphones on public transport or when playing a sport. Music that gives a special meaning at all times and that encourages listening.

There are many ways to take advantage of it, but this is usually done in digital format. In audio files, there is a wide variety and normally many still use MP3 for convenience. But there are less popular alternatives that seek to provide a different, better experience. For those who do not know it, there are a number of main sound systems.

The best audio format

Beyond the fact that the MP3 format is the most popular of all the audio formats available, it is not the only one. Some others like “FLAC”, “WMA”, “OGG” have certain characteristics which, depending on what you want, can be very useful on certain occasions.

In technology, audio formats can generally be classified into 2 categories. There are those which preserve all the quality and those which involve losses of quality of the sound or information.

Those that preserve the quality of the audio are those that come from pure sources such as CDs. This is how those who lose quality and sacrifice this information must save space.

Audio quality formats

“FLAC” is a lossless audio codec or “FLAC”. It is one of the formats that best preserves audio quality and its compression algorithm is excellent. It is open source, does not generate quality losses and the file size because it is compressed, is much smaller.

Apple Lossless is known as “ALAC” and is very similar to “FLAC”. The difference is that it is not as efficient, so these files are larger, although they still have unconditional support for iOS, which “FLAC” does not.

“APE” is another and although the problem with this format is that it is not compatible with the vast majority of players, it is considered to be similar to the “FLAC” or “ALAC” format in terms of audio quality. . As it is highly compressed, it accelerates the functioning of the computer’s processor and it is therefore not recommended to use it in low-consumption computer equipment.

“WAV” and “AIFF” are not compression formats, but rather exact copies of the original content and differ in the way they record the data. “AIFF” was created by Apple and “WAV” is more universal, but both have too much disk space.

Formats with loss of audio quality

MP3, MPEG Audio Layer III or MP3, as many people already know, is the most common format that can be found. “ACC” is very popular on iTunes and is considered more efficient than MP3 because files in this format are smaller.

OGG Vorbis is one of the free and open source alternatives to MP3 and ACC. It is not limited by patents, but it is also not supported by many players. WMA is Microsoft’s proprietary format and is very similar to MP3, but without much advantage over the others.

Which audio format to choose?

The most recommended is “MP3” or “AAC” because many players support it. In addition, if they are encoded with a high bit rate, they can hardly be distinguished from the original source. However, if you want to burn music, formats like “FLAC” are recommended, because you can then convert everything to other formats without losing audio quality.

Once the audio formats are known, when choosing, the differences between each must be taken into account. In general, what the experts recommend is to use “MP3” or “AAC” as they are compatible with most players and the quality of both is very similar to that of the original source, especially if it is encoded with a high bit rate. Unless you have a specific need, “MP3” and “AAC” are the most recommended options.

However, one thing to know is that to store music in lossless formats, there is no “FLAC”. You probably won’t notice any higher quality, but it’s good for storing music if you plan to convert it to other formats later. In these cases, “FLAC” is always recommended, and it is also possible to choose the format without loss or degradation of quality

What is the best audio format?

Many are known, but there is always the question of which is the best audio format. The main and most recognized for listening to music are MP3, Wav, FLAC and Ogg.

But, to choose the best audio format, you must first know that they have multiple conformations, and you can always choose the best one. Music always goes everywhere, at home in front of the computer, in a living room with a hi-fi system, with headphones on public transport or when playing sports. Music that gives a special meaning to each moment and that encourages when heard.

There are many ways to enjoy it, but it is usually always done in digital format. Within the audio files, there is a great variety and normally many still use MP3 for convenience. But there are alternatives that are less popular and that seek to offer a different and higher quality experience. For those who do not know it, there are a number of main sound systems.

The best audio format

Beyond that the MP3 format is the most popular of all available audio formats, it is not the only one. Some others like “FLAC”, “WMA”, “OGG” have certain characteristics that, depending on what you want, can be very useful on certain occasions.

In technology, audio formats can generally be classified into 2 categories. There are those that retain all the quality and those that lead to quality losses in sound or information.

Those that preserve the quality of the audio are those that come from pure sources such as CDs. This is how those who lose quality and sacrifice this information are to save space.

Formats that preserve audio quality

“FLAC” is Free Lossless Audio Codec or “FLAC”. It is one of the formats that best preserves the audio quality and its compression algorithm is excellent. It is open source, does not generate quality losses and the size of the file because it is compressed, is much smaller.

Apple Lossless is known as “ALAC” and is very similar to “FLAC”. The difference is that it is not as efficient, so these files are larger, although they still have the unconditional support of iOS, something that “FLAC” does not have.

“APE” is another and although the problem with this format is that it is not compatible with the vast majority of players, it is considered similar to the “FLAC” or “ALAC” format in terms of audio quality. As it is highly compressed, it makes the computer’s processor work faster and therefore it is not recommended to use it in low-power computing equipment.

“WAV” and “AIFF” are not compression formats, but rather exact copies of the original content and differ in the way they save data. “AIFF” was created by Apple and “WAV” is more universal, but both have too much disk space.

Formats with loss of audio quality

MP3, MPEG Audio Layer III or MP3, as many already know them, is the most common format that can be found. “ACC” is very popular on iTunes and is considered more efficient than MP3 since files in this format are smaller.

OGG Vorbis is one of the free and open source alternatives to MP3 and ACC. It is not restricted by patents, but it is also not supported by many players. WMA is Microsoft’s proprietary format and is very similar to MP3, but without great advantages over the others.

Which audio format to choose?

The one that is most recommended to choose is the “MP3” or “AAC”, since many players support them. Furthermore, if they are encoded with a high bitrate, they can hardly be distinguished from the original source. However, if what you want is to burn the music, formats such as “FLAC” are recommended, because then you can convert everything to other formats, without losing the audio quality.

Once the audio formats are known, when choosing, the differences between each one must be taken into account. In general, what experts recommend is to use “MP3” or “AAC” since they are compatible with most players and the quality of both is very similar to that of the original source, especially if it is encoded with a high bit rate. Unless you have a specific need, “MP3” and “AAC” are the most advisable options.

However, one thing to know is that to store music in lossless formats, there is no such thing as “FLAC”. You probably won’t notice a higher quality, but it’s good for storing music if you plan to convert it to other formats later. In these cases, “FLAC” is always recommended, and it is also possible to choose the format without loss or degradation of file quality.

As a final conclusion, it can be said that you should not be obsessed with the subject, but you just have to be sure of what you want and choose.

What is the best audio format for listening to music?

Although the MP3 format is the most popular of all available audio formats, it is not the only one, some such as FLAC, WMA, OGG and others, have features that, depending on what you want, can be very useful in certain occasions

Here I show you a summary of what to expect when you are looking for the best audio format to listen to music.

As a general rule, we can classify audio formats into two categories: those that retain all quality and those that lead to loss of quality in sound or information.

Those who retain all audio quality come from pure sources such as CDs, while those who lose quality sacrifice this information to save space.

Formats that preserve audio quality:

FLAC: Free Lossless Audio Codec or FLAC, for its acronym in English, is one of the formats that best preserves audio quality. Its compression algorithm is excellent and does not generate quality losses, it is open source and the file size when compressed is much smaller
Apple Lossless: known as ALAC is very similar to FLAC, but not as efficient as this, so these files are larger, although they have the unconditional support of iOS, which FLAC does not have

APE: The problem with this format is that it is not very compatible with the vast majority of players, but it is similar to the FLAC or ALAC format in terms of audio quality. Being very compressed makes the computer’s processor work faster so it is not recommended in low power computing equipment
WAV and AIFF: they are not compression formats, but exact copies of the original content, differing in the way they save the data. While AIFF was created by Apple, WAV is more universal, but both take too much disk space.

Formats with loss of audio quality:

MP3: MPEG Audio Layer III or MP3, as we all know them, is the most common format you can find
ACC: is more efficient than MP3, files in this format are smaller and is very popular on iTunes
OGG Vorbis: it is a free and open source alternative to MP3 and ACC, it is not restricted by patents but not supported by many players
WMA: this is the proprietary format of Microsoft very similar to MP3, without great advantages over the others
Which audio format to choose
You may be interested: «It’s proven: classical music modifies your genes and makes you smarter»
It is more recommended to choose MP3 or AAC, since many players support them, in addition, if they are encoded with a high bitrate they are almost indistinguishable from the original source. However, if what you want is to burn your music, I recommend formats like FLAC, then you can convert everything to other formats without losing audio quality.